Tale of a Water Sprite
by Catherine Drake
Summary: AU [JouSeto and RyouBakura] What could a seemingly fictional story have to do with Jounouchi and Kaiba? Chapter 2 up!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Tale of a Water Sprite  
  
Summary: A garden filled with statues. Each statue is a piece of a story. Why would Kaiba Seto tell Jounouchi Katsuya this story?  
  
Disclaimer: Since my muses are horrible, I get to say this by myself...I own nothing ::cry::  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Jounouchi looked at the beautiful statues in the garden he had been assigned to. He had just been hired at a store for helping with the upkeep of privately owned lawns. His first job surprised him, though. Why would they let him, Jounouchi Katsuya, one of the least experienced, albeit the one with most natural talent, member on his shift, work on Kaiba Seto's lawn? It was already perfectly manicured, not a blade of grass was out of place. His coworkers told him to explore this garden first, it being the most beautiful, and Katsuya was glad he had taken their advice.  
  
All of the statues in this garden appeared to be of the same female, sometimes with a young man who certainly looked as if her were her lover, or at least as if he completely adored her. A slightly morbid one, which doubled as a fountain, caught his eye when he first entered the garden. Aside from being the largest, it depicted the woman in all the other statues. However, a long broad-sword impaled her slightly swollen stomach. Clutching this sword was a granite man, not the same one as other times, but you could tell by his facial features that he was desperately saddened by the deed.  
  
Jounouchi's favorite, though, was one of the young couple--the woman, hair flapping in an invisible breeze, captured by time, and the man, his hair vaguely familiar. A smile lit his face, and he was looking down at her with apparent adoration, even though his face was carved from rough stone. You knew he was completely enamored with the woman before him.  
  
"They tell a story," said a quiet voice behind Katsuya. Jou spun to face the speaker and was immediately stunned. Standing there was Kaiba Seto, his hand on the cheek of a statue of the maiden. A wreath of purple flowers encircled the statues head much like a halo. In fact, Kaiba looked quite serene standing there, himself.  
  
"Is it a true story?" asked Jounouchi, somewhat curious at what information the CEO may choose to release.  
  
"Why would I delve myself into a world of fiction?"  
  
"Good question, why would you?"  
  
Without answering, Kaiba commanded him, "Sit."  
  
"Her name was Naida. She was a water sprite, the most beautiful of her remaining species. She wore water lilies in her hair, which brought out the beautiful, creamy chocolate color in her eyes, and the golden color in her hair.  
  
"Not only was she beautiful, but she was completely selfless. Her sisters were not jealous, however--it simply was not in the nature of a water sprite-- and they tended to flock to her. They were drawn to her like moths to a flame--without the deadly result. She adored the attention she received, and it became a sort of...guilty pleasure to her.  
  
"Naida knew well the oceans, seas, ponds, lakes, straights, rivers, streams, waterfalls, and springs of the Earth. But, also, she knew of the wells that lead to the bathhouses of the wealthy. The lush homes of noblemen soon became her frequent haunts.  
  
"It was in a home such as this that she first laid eyes upon him." It was at this time that Seto moved to a small fountain that Jou had not noticed before. A man in the tub was surveyed by the woman, Naida. The fountain's water bubbled slightly and ran over the edges of the granite tub, onto stones patterned to look like hardwood floor.  
  
Jou turned to study the petrified man in the tub. His eyes were shut, his long, delicate-looking fingers gripping the sides of the tub. To his great surprise, as Seto knelt down near it, he recognized the hairstyle to resemble the CEO's own meticulously kept hair. Kaiba's voice broke Jou out of his musings. "He was sleeping the first few times she wound up in a bucket of steaming water. His eyes were shut tightly, and it quickly became apparent that times like these were the only times the young man got any sleep. His hair was brown with a curious tint of green in it. She knew his eyes, no matter the color, would be beautiful.  
  
"Her parents knew nothing of their daughter stealing away into the bathing rooms of young men, nor her innocent way of peering, curiously, in on the young man in the bathtub.  
  
"The day came when she appeared in his water, and he was completely awake. Surprised, Naida forgot to hide herself away from prying eyes. He immediately fell in love: not only with her wondrous body, which he soon grew to know every inch of, but also the kind aura that radiated from her.  
  
"She was surprised at the color of his eyes and immediately became lost in their calming depths. They were the color of a thousand seas at night. They were dark and calming, a brilliant blue she had never before seen on any mortal.  
  
"And instant bond was formed between the two. She would visit him whenever she got the chance to slip away, and they soon fell deeply in love." This was followed by Seto's snort of contempt as he moved to a new statue--Jou's favorite.  
  
"Their love went undetected for months, although Naida's youngest sister, Nixie, suspected something. She, although the youngest, was the most perceptive her family had seen in years.  
  
"Water sprites are old, remember this. Young to them is ancient to us. Nixie herself was well over 4,000 years old, and she was the last of them born--the youngest. Over those 4,000 years the water sprites had forgotten the secret of bearing children. In truth, the race, Naida's whole family, was dying out.  
  
"Naida became careless one day; she did not notice the figure following her through the streams and pipes and into the lord's bathing chambers. She did not notice the figure's horror at her greeting to him--a chaste kiss on the lips. Nor did the two lovers, enraptured as they were by each other, notice their follower slip silently away." Seto moved gracefully toward a statue that showed the two in a passionate embrace, clearly enjoying each other's company.  
  
"They were found out, and the young man was made to flee, leaving Naida chronically depressed. Her clan felt they had done their duty, but the damage had been done. Naida was with child--something that had not been done in 4,000 years. This was not to be allowed. Why should they let a half- human walk amongst them?" Kaiba paused, taking a deep, shaky breath. He moved to the fountain of the woman with a sword in her gut. "Her own blood brother was the one to kill her. He shoved the sword through her stomach-- through the abomination, killing it, or so they thought. With her last few breaths, she told them what they had long ago forgotten.  
  
"'A water sprite can only bear a child if she, or he, is in love. The child can only come into the world if the woman dies. It was eradicated from your memories because you would never comprehend!' Her last breath was drawn seconds after she swore that her son would fall in love with the first-born child of her lover's youngest brother, whom she had heard about on numerous occasions." Seto took his hand and stroked the stone cold face of the cement woman with his fingertips. "That's her story, but the story itself does not end there. A part of her spirit lived on in her child, and, although he could choose what he would like to look like, the boy grew an uncanny likeness to his mother, whom he had never known."  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya looked around, stunned. This was an unusual occurrence--Seto Kaiba opening up to him enough to tell him a story that seemed pure fantasy. When he recovered from his shock he asked, "Why are you telling me this?" At this, the CEO let out a sardonic laugh.  
  
"Why is a very good question. Why indeed?" was the bitter retort from Jou's rival. "Why would I tell you something that seems made out of pure fantasy? I'll tell you why, Katsuya. It's because you need to know the truth. The truth about yourself and the truth about me."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
How do you like it? I'm not even sure that I want to continue. Truthfully I fully intended to make this my first one-shot, but it didn't turn out like that, so it seems. I even left you at a cliffy x.X that's horrible. Please R&R...I may seem new, but whatever...how about this...you review me, I'll review you...I'll even give you some Laffy Taffy and a joke to go with it! 


	2. Chapter 2

Um.hi again.I'm not really pleased with this.but please read and enjoy if you will. Sorry it took so long to get out.  
  
~*~  
  
"What in the world are you talking about, Kaiba?" asked the blonde known as Jounouchi Katsuya.  
  
The brunette sneered. "I knew you were stupid, mizu inu, but I had no idea that you were imbecilic enough to block out such an important memory--to you AND to me!"  
  
"I'll say this again-what are you talking about?" asked the blonde once more, making sure to annunciate his question clearly.  
  
"I'm talking about your past, pup! I'm talking about what you are; what should have been brought to your attention so very long ago!" spat out the taller man. And quieter, "Why would you block your memory of me like that?"  
  
"Jesus, moneybags, you're overworking far more than I thought!"  
  
"What do you mean?" The ice in the voice matched the ice in the glare Jounouchi received from the CEO.  
  
"You're ranting on about something that is NOT real, Kaiba.the only conclusion I can come to is that you're overworking and that is causing a decrease in your better judgment!"  
  
"You fail to realize that this.phenomenon you think you have spotted is not so. I am spouting off more true information than you have probably ever put onto a test paper!" spat out the peeved heir to Kaiba Corporation. "Do you understand? Do you realize who and what you are?"  
  
With this last comment, Katsuya had had enough; Kaiba was just weirding him out, and he wasn't going to stand for it. He stormed from the premises, making a mental note to quit his job, even after only having it for the few days. He didn't stop for the voice that called to him and told him to, "Think about it!"  
  
However, the previous rant he had listened to from the owner of 51% of the shares at Kaiba Corporation made something snap in the back of his mind.  
  
~~~*~~~Dream~~~*~~~  
  
They taunted him relentlessly. He wasn't like them, not one bit. He was only half the sprite they were. He was unholy, and therefore could never master their art; although, unknown to anyone, his magic was far more advanced than anyone was ever allowed to go, for fear of revolt. He would never have friends like the others.  
  
His only friend, in fact, was a boy his age that was also ridiculed by their peers. He had chosen early in life that his hair would remain a pure white in color--much like the fabled unicorn's--and his body was that of a human completely. No one, besides Katsuya himself, had ever seen the young boy change into his second favorite form-that of the dolphin. Ryou, as he called himself, was disliked by those who he swore to protect, and Katsuya strongly admired the boy for it.  
  
The story had oft been told to him by his uncle, the only one who had been alive to care for him, of how he had been a bastard child-a mistake to the woman who had been his mother. He had been told of how she had been murdered by her brother--from the man himself. He often blamed himself for her death because they were keen on telling him of how they would not have killed her had they know that Katsuya would have been the product.  
  
How the promise that she had made with her dying breath would never be fulfilled was always rubbed in his face. His 'family' had sought out the young man along with his wife and any other lovers he may have had and killed each of them in turn.  
  
~~~*~~~End Dream~~~*~~~  
  
Jou woke with a gasp. This dream was a first, as he almost never dreamt, at least not that vividly.  
  
After fleeing from Kaiba, he had stalked off to his place of work and turned in his resignation to the head, to an abundance of snickering behind his back, and he understood why, exactly, he had been chosen for the position of Kaiba's gardener in the first place. They just wanted to make a fool of the poor new sap.  
  
He had finally given up on his search for a job when the fifth interviewer had refused to give him the job that had been advertised, although he had been more than qualified for each and everyone. When he arrived home he crashed on the worn-out, puke-colored couch, not even bothering to pull out the hide-away bed.  
  
He flipped over to his stomach and stared at the badly-tiled ceiling of his two-room apartment. After the dream he had just had, even though he could not remember most of it, he found himself wondering if what his rival had said could possibly be true. A quick glance at the clock told him that 2 o'clock a.m. was much too early for one to be out and about in the world, so he fell blissfully back into the realm of sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
One (1) Kaiba Seto woke with a very nasty kink in his over-worked neck. (It never is very pleasant to sleep at your desk in a stiff office chair, is it?) His brilliant blue eyes scanned the room to find what had woken him. His vision swept across the immaculately kept office. Well, immaculate except for the suit coat and tie that had been folded neatly on a small sofa near the stainless steel (and bulletproof) door. A sharp insistent rapping upon said object drew his gaze toward it. The only other sign that he was aware of the life form that was alerting him to it's presence was the spoken, "Come in."  
  
What greeted his sight was not what he expected. Instead of the usual bossy secretary (who most likely was late again, seeing as how the form in the doorway had gotten through), he peered upon a slightly disheveled, completely underdressed, Jounouchi Katsuya. The blonde boy was looking anywhere but at the CEO he had obviously come to see.  
  
"Do you enjoy making those you came to see wait?" asked the brunette, completely at home in his own domain.  
  
Katsuya looked around, seeming to debate a matter of utmost importance. "It's sterile.kind of like a hospital," was his quiet reply to Seto. It was not what the young man had expected. He had expected for the blonde to say "boring" or, at the very most, he expected "bland" to come out of the puppy's mouth- all had been previously observed by others, including himself. Sterile was not an observation he had made, but it was oh-so- true.  
  
Everything from the puke-teal carpeting to the stainless steel desk and chair legs screamed sterile. The folded jacket did not help the image. "Why have you come here?" asked Seto, slightly irked that he had not noticed sooner.  
  
"For some messed up, crack-addicted reason, I believe you. Although it seems so false, everything seems to ring true in my head." said the blonde, his lean form carefully leaning against one of the hospital-white walls. His jean jacket hung loosely against his form and framed the black t-shirt featuring what appeared to be a mixture between the boys' two favorite Duel Monster cards. He wore plain blue jeans and black sneakers.  
  
"You seemed almost afraid of me yesterday, though. What changed your mind?" Seto grinned, "Was it my amazing good looks?"  
  
"My.memories.or, maybe, somehow, they're drug-induced delusions.even though I haven't even taken prescription medicine since I was in, like, 7th grade," was the reply Seto got. "What I, personally, don't get, is why you, of all people, are harping on me about it." During this last round of talking, the blonde's eyes had been closed so his did not notice that Seto had almost closed the gap in between two.  
  
The grin Jou received from his fellow teenager when he opened his eyes was enough to scare anyone. "Your father had more than one younger brother," breathed Kaiba before trapping the blonde between himself and the wall, their faces inches apart.  
  
~*~  
  
Damn.I left you at another cliffy, didn't I.does that mean that I'm going to have to do ANOTHER chapter? Oh well.I guess I'll live..just have to strain my brain for more ideas ::giggle::  
  
Disclaimer: ::sigh:: well-o.no one wants to do this for me again, so here goes.I don't own anything except for my idea! Which I'm quite proud of, by the way!  
  
Thanks for reading.now take the next step and review! 


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back from the dead, but I changed my name...I know it has to be confusing, and I'm sorry...but that's how it is. This chapter only helps to develop the plot. I was hoping to shove some intentional fluff in here...but it didn't work out quite the way I planned. That's just the way things are, I suppose.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do own the poem, which I call "Water Lullaby".  
  
Tale of a Water Sprite: Chapter 3

.......................................

Katsuya's eyes widened at the close proximity of the other boy, and he hoped that they were close enough that the blush spreading over his cheeks was invisible. "Do you need to be so close?" he squeaked, suddenly feeling the urge to be very, very far away from here. He wouldn't even begin to process the fact he had been given by Kaiba into some time later over lunch.  
  
"I do not particularly need to be this close, no, but I find it more intimidating when I am in close range to the person I am trying to, for lack of a better word, intimidate," breathed Seto, a smile, whatever the intent behind it, brightening up his face and showing perfectly straight, white teeth.  
  
"You're not intimidating," the blonde said, "now get your disgusting morning breath out of my face! At least I had the decency to brush after I woke up." This only caused Kaiba to laugh sadistically.  
  
"You act as if I have you cornered, pup."  
  
"You do, you jerk off!" Jou practically yelled, his fists tightening at his sides. Seto laughed and pulled back, running his fingers lightly along the blonde's arms as he did so. Jounouchi Katsuya shuddered--and not from disgust.  
  
"Now, I expect you're going to want to talk. And, seeing as it is nearly lunchtime, perhaps we could fill your mouth and stomach at the same time so that I may get a word in without you asking questions and, ultimately, talking far more than anyone would wish," the CEO stated calmly. Let the puppy have his shouts and taunts, the boy will be mine, and no others'.  
  
Jounouchi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, letting a long breath out. When the honey orbs opened again, they contained acceptance. "All right, we'll do this your way, okay? Just...just stay off, okay?" The feigned innocent smile he received was not comforting.  
  
The two sat across from each other in a secluded part of the restaurant, 'L'entrée Près de L'eau', neither saying a word. They ate salads quietly, Katsuya showing off exquisite manners, surprising the CEO and causing him to stare.  
  
"What do you want, Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked, having felt eyes on her personage for quite some time. He took a quick bite of salad, chewing it thoughtfully and staring at the brunette with raised eyebrow.  
  
"I'm just wondering where you learned such table manners. Such aren't befitting of a miz-"  
  
"Don't even say it, Kaiba. We came here to discuss whatever it is that my past, or whatever it is, has to do with you. I did not come here to be stared at or taunted. I just want the truth," said Jounouchi tiredly, cutting off Seto. Another bite of salad and Katsuya said, "Besides, I have no idea where my table manners came from. I've just...always eaten like this...it comes as a habit, I guess."

.................................

A lone white haired boy sat forlornly on a feather-soft bed, his head buried in his hands. If one were to observe closely, they would notice the shoulders of the thin boy shaking ever-so-slightly. Not only that, but, to any passerbys with exceptional hearing, a muffled whimpering was to be heard. The golden Sennen Ring sat precariously on the edge of the end table where he had set it in a rush to get it off of him and away at the same time. 

/Hikari! Put the fucking ring on and open the door right this instant!!/ came a very soft, yet stern, voice in the back of the light- haired boy's mind. He knew it must be hard for his Yami--his darkness--to contact him without him wearing the ring.  
  
No! Not until you give it back! I hate you, Bakura! I hate you! I want you out of here and leave it in front of the door...and don't think of coming back! screamed the cream skinned boy, knowing very well the one of the ring could hear him, albeit faintly. Tears slowly leaked from brown eyes, as hands made a furious attempt to clear them away.  
  
Loud rapping on the door caused a strangled whimper to make its way from the boy, tears falling faster. "Hikari! Ryou, please let me in!" yelled the man on the other side of the door, his 'please' sounding forced, almost as he seldom used the word. The knob jangled loudly, alerting Ryou that Bakura, for that was whom is was, was trying his hardest to get in.  
  
"Just leave me alone, you good for nothing--!" yelled Ryou, his voice cracking oddly near the end. Tired of the loud pounding on his door, Ryou stormed across the room, tears now falling freely, and flipped on the radio, turning it up nearly to full blast and drowning the valiant attempts of his yami to break in, out. Having done this, he dove into the comforter on his bed and cried his heart out, grabbing an obscured picture on his bedside table and hugging it close to his chest, falling asleep as he wore himself down.

...........................................

Kaiba sighed as he stared at the blonde, his eyes falling over the finely chiseled face of the man. He made a note of the way his jaw moved as he ate; the way his eyelashes brushed along slightly pink cheeks when the boy blinked. He took note of the perfect posture and air of contentment made from the picture of, in Seto's eyes, perfection.  
  
"What do you want to know?" Kaiba asked suddenly and marveled at the way the blonde didn't jump, taking the question in stride and showing no notion that the sudden question had caught him off guard.  
  
"I want to know what you have to tell me," said Katsuya, carefully eating a forkful of pasta, his eyes closing briefly and enjoying the flavor.  
  
"I will tell you my memories, and I hope you stay, even though you may not like what I have to tell you, all right?" Katsuya nodded in affirmation.

.............................................

Perhaps it was the quiet that woke him, or maybe the soft caresses made by callused hands that alerted his body that it was no longer time to rest. Maybe it was soft words spoken clearly and meant to heal that brought him to that gradual awareness.. Whatever it was, the boy's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the near darkness of the room. Sleepily, they made out the form perched on the edge of his bed.  
  
"In these times of darkness  
I learned never to fear  
I've waited for so many days  
Just to know you're near  
  
Living in the shadow  
Searching for the light  
I sing a water lullaby  
And wait for starry night,"  
  
It took a moment to register the white hair and deep brown eyes, but when it did, the reaction was immediate. Chocolate orbs widened, and the boy yelled for the other to leave, pleading with him and making toward the door. He got no further than having his feet touch the ground before a clear cylinder was thrust in his face.  
  
"If I wanted forever  
I'd look toward the sea  
The crystal blue water  
Made just for you and me  
  
Water sings me to sleep  
Makes everything right  
Caresses our feelings  
Turns day into night,"  
  
The cylinder seemed to be filled with water and the glass looked newly polished because the boy knew there had been several fingerprints littered throughout the surface. The look of joy that filled the boy's face, however, did not match the seemingly insignificant contents.  
  
"I did not realize how much this...tube of water meant to you, or I would not have taken it," replaced the soft words abruptly. Chocolate met chocolate and the innocent smiled, bringing the one who had woken him into a hug.  
  
"I...suppose I may have overreacted, Bakura...you didn't know...no one does. I'm just surprised you found it in the first place," said Ryou, his eyes never leaving the tube.  
  
"May I know why this...thing is so important to you?" Bakura asked quietly, almost as if to not break the mood.  
  
"I...suppose...but its hard, you know? I've been away for so long...and now there's so much happening. Its all coming to a head, and I'm not sure I made the right decision by agreeing to watch after Katsuya," said the youth, shaking his head, and clasping the tube more tightly than before. Bakura, for once, sat quietly--almost patiently--while he waited for his small light to continue.

....................................

"I have been searching for you for nearly six years," started Seto, his eyes gazing at the young man in front of him. Previously mentioned boy sat with a slowly forming shocked look on his face and set his silver fork back on his plate, meal forgotten for now.  
  
"Why have you been...searching for me? And for so long?" the blonde asked quietly, cautiously.  
  
"I'm trying to fulfill a prophesy of sorts, Katsuya. Please let me finish my tale, or I may not be able to."  
  
"A-all right. Just please don't turn out to be some sort of stalker..." said Katsuya, gradually looking less tense and staying quiet.  
  
"All right. Six years, is how long I have been looking for you. At first, it was just to fulfill this prophecy. It was one my adoptive father told me about a few years after he adopted Mokuba and I. He had a good laugh at the fact that he wouldn't allow me to work on it until he died.  
  
"I started work on it almost immediately without his knowledge, and he never suspected otherwise. I lost so much data in those first years after starting when he would walk in and I would quickly close the programs without saving to make it look like I was doing real work. It was a major setback, but it allowed me to work more efficiently than if I had only read documents once over.  
  
"The search seemed hopeless. Who could match the description of 'golden hair and honeyed eyes such as the world had never before known'? I was so wrapped up that it took me two years to realize that I had been going to school with the one that I was fated to meet, and it surprised me because it was whom I had always secretly wished it to be..." Kaiba trailed off, and Katsuya took the moment of silence to break in.  
  
"Who was it?" he asked, curiosity lacing his voice, even though he was almost certain of whom it was because of recent hints.

.................................

I hope you enjoyed that! I left it at a "bit" of a cliffy, even though you all know the answer, so it really isn't. I threw in the Ryou/Bakura because I get bored writing with just two characters, so I try to use more than that. They also will help move the plot along so that Ryou can explain his part in Jou's past and give us more insight as to why he left quicker than if Jou had to remember all by his sad little self. This is longer than usual...four pages without the A/Ns. I hope you haven't given up on me writing another chapter. I can honestly say it partly wasn't my fault. Only partly. My mom used the recovery disk on my comp...and we all know that means bye bye to all the story that I had. Which sucked.  
  
If anyone is still reading this, please review!! I will give you a chocolate cookie with sprinkles! 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next installment! This is one of my favorites! I never thought I'd have more than one chapter and here I am with four! Its amazing what things the bored mind can come up with. But I adore writing and I will have you all know that I will ALWAYS finish something...even with the enormous pauses between chapters sometimes! So have no fear and keep coming!  
  
Tale of a water Sprite. Chapter Four.  
  
In which coincidences are done over by fate and the Gods.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
I'm not sure what it is that attracts me to him. The white hair, that amazing smile with teeth so white you can see your reflection, his personality, his innocence...I'm not sure in the least what it is, but he is beautiful. In Egypt, it was no unheard of for men to be together romantically, although it was not talked about often- if at all. Of course, he was talking now.  
  
"Katsuya and I were best friends years ago before he and I moved here. He was the only one who would talk to a _freak_ like me when we were children. I was the only one of our kind besides him whom had chosen a human form for thou--"  
  
I chose this moment to interrupt, his words processing in my mind. "Human form? Are you some type of alien, then?" I was curious enough to ask, so he had better give me an answer.  
  
"I'm not...human, if that is what you are asking," he says, a slight accent that isn't British breaking through for a second. Could it be possible that he wasn't a native Britain like he led us to believe?  
  
"Then what the Hell are you?" I spat. Maybe the tone was too harsh, but I do not enjoy liars, other than myself. He flinches back and I relish the movement. It means that I've made him feel something toward me--it doesn't matter that it's fear.  
  
"I-I'm what humans consider a 'Water Sprite'," he says. The stuttering is endearing but annoying as all sin. I'm not going to hurt him, I just want him to feel something toward me and not his retarded (I loved the word retarded...it just rolled so easily off the tongue) friends.  
  
"Is that some sort of pansyish pixie?" I ask him tonelessly. The word 'faerie' suits him more than 'pixie', though. He is slight and beautiful and delicate and easily hurt. Pixies are horrid creatures, even for being a part of the faerie family. But no one needs the mythology lesson especially since my gorgeous hikari is speaking once more.  
  
"It...you could call it that, although we are so much more than that. We are the guardians of all bodies of water. We help keep it clean and pure...that jar means so much because it is part of the sea I was appointed to before Katsuya was kicked out and I was thrust into the role as his guardian." He didn't say the last part as if he were bitter...just lonely.  
  
"I understand why Katsuya would need a guardian, the clumsy mutt, but why you?" I ask, trying not to let my curiosity shine through, and it seems to be working.  
  
"I'm supposed to make sure he doesn't find his vowed lover, if one even exists...I think they made it up since they obviously killed any possible chance..." he says, gazing at his jar of water. For an unknown reason, this makes me want to hug him and be with him forever. I hate that feeling.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
"You," breathes Kaiba and Jounouchi almost falls from the seat in which he is perched. The way that one 'you' is said makes the blonde's heart race, his mind blanking for the second it would have taken to register the brunette's quick movement. He probably would not have, anyway. Before what seems like a minute passes, Kaiba throws sixty dollars on the table to cover the bill and tip and walks out, a certain skip and his step.  
  
Katsuya is left stunned, fingers at his lips where the other's own had been just seconds previously.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
He's going to hate me...why couldn't I have just left it alone without kissing him?! I ask myself frantically. I won't admit that I am in a wonderful mood thanks to it, but now I know the object of my affection will hate me. That is precisely what I have dreaded since the beginning of this expedition. Not only is my secret out, but now I have made a complete and utter fool of myself. I'm sure there will be pictures of my lip lock with the puppy all over the front page of the newspapers.  
  
Maybe I'll fire someone when I get to my office. Firing people has always been my relaxant. If not relaxing me, then making me feel more in control. I need that right now because I am not feeling powerful in the least.  
  
Forget it, I'm not in the mood to go to my office. I haven't been for a long time. I swerve from my current path and head toward the park. Yes, I'm aware the puppy's friends come here often, but I need the solace that comes with nature. Maybe it will help clear my head and maybe it won't.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
Katsuya sat, fingers still at his lips, staring at the spot where the CEO had previously laid dormant. _Why'd he feel the need to do that?_ He asked himself, oblivious to the man now next to him asking his name. His heart was beating in his chest frantically, and he couldn't seem to think straight.  
  
The blonde had known he was gay for a very long time. His very first crush had been a blonde with brilliant grayish blue eyes named Jeth. Jeth had captured his heart but turned him down harshly when he found out. And, of course, Jounouchi had had a very powerful crush on the brown-haired CEO since he had first seen the man. As a cover-up for this, he had resorted to harsh words and violence.  
  
He stood abruptly, his chair hitting the man behind him and knocking him over, but Katsuya paid that no heed. All he knew was that he needed to be rid of this place and he knew the perfect place to do that...the park.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
I know what is happening. It all seems like a whirlwind of feelings and emotions. Everything happens so quickly, but I know this for certain--I am aggravated at my spy. I am angrier than I have ever been at anyone. That _brat_! How dare he break his promise to me. Ryou, my little gorgeous flower. You will pay for falling for your dark. You will pay for not noticing the similarities between Seto and Rangeru.  
  
You, my delicious flower, will never know pain so unbearable. You will wish you had never accepted this mission. Jounouchi is _mine_, you understand, flower? You need to protect him from the evils of his chosen one. He needs to love me, and me alone.  
  
Rejecting him was a way of testing him. None could ever know how I felt about the _half-breed_. But they're all dead or dying, now. You should have seen how your mother screamed, Ryou, when she saw me come at her for your insolence. You should have never let my precious Jou out of your site. Now she's dead. You didn't know what death was until your father, did you? He was worthless, anyway. I need Katsuya, and I will have him...whether you approve or not, little delicate flower.  
  
Have no fear, flower, Jeth is here.  
  
::.::.::.::.::  
  
That last one was horrendously creepy to write...Jeth already scares me. And those were just his thoughts...I don't want to know about his actions until I've already written them.  
  
I hope you enjoyed this. I was trying to switch around perspectives and add a little suspense into the mixture. They also FINALLY kissed. Not very long, but they did, at least, right? Also, if you're confused...No, Seto isn't just after our poor little Jou because of the 'prophecy'...he had an amazingly elaborate crush on Jou long before he realized, "Hey...this must be that guy I'm looking for." Although, the two had been fighting far too long for him to suddenly change. And Jou liked Seto long before, also. Just to clear that up!  
  
Yes, there will be Ryou/Bakura because currently I'm in love with the couple almost as much as I'm in love with Seto/Jou. Almost. 


End file.
